Evening's Gold
by bad.friends.bad.touch.trio
Summary: Using OCs from my SYOC, thanks to all submitters. Dark Themes! Murder! Drama! Gods! Intrigue! Secrets! Battles! Prophecies! It's like a fic on crack cocaine! R&R
1. A Prophecy

**AN-I started it a bit earlier than I expected. Yay! Do you think I should jump right into the quest or stay a few days at camp? I'm thinking about staying so everyone is mentioned. If I didn't mention your OC in this chapter, I'll mention him/her in the next two.**

**On that note, I need about two more characters, one to be a main-I messed up, I need six mains not five. Go to my story ****SYOC**** to submit. The current mains are Monica Aylmer, Michelle Skye, Ian Erin Colt, Ashlynn Marie Brooks, and I'm still deciding over JT Anderson being one. I need two more!**

**Also, could you read and review my story ****Aphrodite's Revenge Is A Bit Strange****? I'd love that. **

**What do you think of my prophecy? **

**PM me if your OC isn't showed the way you wanted them to. I changed a bit on some, but nothing major. R&R and constructive criticism is welcome!**

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><p>"Monica!" The shout echoed through camp, surprising me.<p>

I was currently in an _extremely_ comfy lawn chair on the porch of the Iris cabin. I'm Monica Aylmer, a daughter of Iris. She's the goddess of rainbows, by the way. But, back to the cabin. It was beautiful, made of iridescent marble that shimmered different colors in the light, with a huge wrap-around porch filled with comfortable chairs and shiny mirrors.

Some think that we're as self-absorbed as the Aphrodite cabin, but we're not. I know a couple children of Aphrodite who are really nice. The Iris kids are just as reliable and hardworking as any other cabin's children. We use the mirrors and porch for practicing our talents.

"What?" I screamed back to the girl coming closer, certain that the whole camp could hear us shouting back and forth. I had just finished a practice session with Butch, my half-brother, and I was exhausted.

It was Michelle Skye, my friend from the Apollo cabin.

Looking at her, you wouldn't think she was a daughter of Apollo. She had long, chocolate-brown hair naturally highlighted from the sun, duh, and round emerald eyes. She was pretty enough to be a child of Aphrodite like her step-brother Liam. Also, if you're her friend, call her Ellie or Elle. If not, don't try to talk to her, because she's serious and quiet around people who aren't her friends.

She stopped in front of me, giving the cabin a disgusted look as it changed to a gentle shade of pink, my favorite.

"Do you know where Liam is?" She asked me.

I was surprised that they were apart. Those two were nearly inseparable.

"No, but I think Angie said that he was going to the Big House." I answered, turning my head to the sun.

Ellie nodded. "Yeah, there's a meeting there, but I thought that he hadn't left yet. It's for the counselors, you need to go."

"Aww!" I whined. "I wanna tan."

She rolled her eyes as her quiet smile dropped. She began to walk toward the Big House, calling over her shoulder. "Monica, you're going or Mr. D will most likely incinerate you."

I sighed and got up. It was such a nice chair. I was busy contemplating what I would do when I got back from this dull meeting when JT Anderson, my friend from the Kronos cabin, popped up behind me.

I screamed and turned, accidently slapping him with my ashy blond hair. That's what he got for sneaking up on me.

"You ***hole!" I yelled across camp. Clouds gathered nearby as iridescent balls of light formed in my hands. Ok, so maybe I wasn't as tired as I was pretending.

"Hey, I was just being me." He laughed, a genuine smile on his face.

I was willing to put up with it if it meant he was happy. JT was still mourning his last girlfriend, who died. It was so sad because he loved her, and she died being stabbed by a man who was drunk at the time. I personally swore I would tie the guy in chains and drag him to JT to kill if I found him. I really didn't like Mr. D because of it. Let's face it, who does like him? But I especially disliked his power. I sometimes wondered how JT felt about Mr. D. It probably wasn't good.

Most people assumed we were involved, you know, but we weren't. I was one of the people who saved him when he was attacked after running away from his home. It happened a lot. So we were really good friends, but not anything like that. I guessed that it would take JT a while to get over his past girlfriend, and even then, we're just friends.

"You freaking-ugh!" I shouted, stomping dramatically toward the Big House. Evidently I was looking sad, because JT always likes to cheer me up when I'm depressed. I guess I was, since I'm feeling like the Iris cabin doesn't get any respect. We aren't all sunshine and rainbows, so to speak.

Suddenly he raced by me, his shaggy light brown hair fluttering in the wind it created. His hazel eyes gleamed mischievously as he yelled back. "Race ya to the Big House!"

I cursed myself mentally for being so stupid. JT and I always have races. I'm the daughter of the messenger goddess, and he's the son of the god of time. When you think about it, it kinda makes sense.

I began to sprint, faster than any mortal or demigod, but suddenly I was moving in slow motion. My legs began to slow involuntarily to a mortal's speed as his hand moved from his watch.

"Cheater!" I accused. Innocent demigods turned to stare at the strange sight of two teenagers running through the camp, without screaming about a monster.

He laughed again as he ran in front of me. As soon as I could move again, I created a rainbow with the wave of my hand. It glittered prettily as I stepped through, arriving on the porch of the Big House just in time to see JT run the last couple of yards.

"I'm a cheater?" He asked, walking up the steps to meet me. I shrugged and smiled as he stepped back to let me walk in first.

"Ladies first, Lucky." I joked, immediately regretting it as I saw the grief return to his eyes, but he smiled half-heartedly.

"It's meeting time." I said as I attempted to awkwardly get the conversation going. "I just hope that it's not as stupid as last time. I mean, a party with the Party Ponies invited is not something to gather the counselers for."

"Yes it is." Amberly Justice, a daughter of Morpheus, corrected as she came up the steps behind us. "It was chaos."

"Meh." I shrugged. "It could've been handled without my help."

Amberly shook her head as she entered the Big House.

JT and I heaved sighes and followed her.

I stopped dead when I saw Chiron's face. It was graver than when Percy had disappeared. (AN- there are no Romans mentioned in the story, sorry)

"Monica, JT." Chiron tried to smile, but it was an epic fail. "Please sit."

I sat mutely next to my best friend, Jamie Tattenai, who was the head counselor of the Demeter cabin. There were so many people were in the rec room that I could feel her curly, strawberry blond hair brush my shoulder as she turned her head.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare, our Oracle, smiled warmly at me as she turned to face us.

"I have a prophecy." She announced like she was merely telling of something fascinating on her walk here from her cave, like a fluffy chipmunk that was probably a camper Mr. D got annoyed with.

Said Mr. D glanced up indifferently. "Another?" He asked in a monotone, eyeing us like he wanted to turn us into chipmunks. I didn't like being turned into a chipmunk; I know from experience-curse the Hecate cabin.

Rachel just grinned. Green smoke poured out of her mouth as her eyes glowed and a scaly voice that made me and Joana Jones, a daughter of Carpo, shiver.

"_The six shall travel to where evening is all_

_And confront the nymphs when the sun falls_

_What they recover will placate the queen's fury_

_And the traitor be judged by the gods' jury._

_To go, the rainbow's most powerful child_

_Shall command the quest through the wild"_

Rachel collapsed, her mouth leaking green smoke. Katie Knapp, a daughter of Nike, and Liam Skye, a son of Aphrodite and Ellie's step-brother, picked her up and set her upright on her seat again.

She blinked and faced us. "Well, what did I say?" She demanded.

Chiron repeated the prophecy. Rachel surprised us by throwing back her head and laughing in relief.

"Thank the gods." She said. 'I thought someone was going to die by the looks on your faces."

Chiron shot her a disapproving glance. "Rachel, this is serious." He admonished.

Everyone turned to me. I hadn't moved an inch, I hadn't even breathed since I had heard the last two lines. Me? Lead a quest? To 'placate the queen's fury?' Hades no.

Oh gods, what was happening to my halfway normal life?


	2. Decoding A Prophecy

**AN-I'm doing different POV's from the main. Here's the order-Monica, Michelle, Ian, JT, Ashlynn, and Jessie.**

**Also, no one reviewed my story Aphrodite's Revenge Is A Bit Strange. You're letting me down people! Anyway, hope you like this chapter :)**

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

Decoding a Prophecy

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><p>Michelle's POV<p>

We all turned to look at Monica. She was as pale as her ashy hair, and her iridescent eyes sparkled with fear and surprise. Mostly surprise.

"I think she's going into shock!" I said, leaping up to catch her as she toppled off her seat.

Madison Pierce, my friend and a daughter of Hephaestus, helped me carry Monica out of the room to the infirmary. She had fainted. Go figure.

I told Madison to stay put and to come find me if Monica woke up before we left the meeting. She didn't look happy, but I was a daughter of Apollo and a healer, so she had to listen to my orders. If I was ever in the armory to build something, then I'd listen to her.

I entered the meeting room. Everyone was looking thoughtful, except for Jessie Dollien, a son of Moros, the god of doom. I know, just a freaking ray of sunshine. He looked bored.

I sat next to my step-brother, Liam. He was a son of Aphrodite, and people say that we could be twins. We both have even chocolate hair with natural highlights from the sun. He's a really kind guy, even if the stereotype Aphrodite child isn't like that.

"That was a spectacular prophecy." Ian Erin Colt, a son of Khione, said sarcastically, giving Rachel a unpleasant look. "Sounds like Queen Hera lost something."

"What could it be?" I asked the room in general.

Chiron shifted guiltily. We all pointed to glare accusingly at him and an unconcerned Dionysus, who only glanced up with a bored expression.

"The prophecy mentioned evening." Chiron said doubtfully. "It could be the Garden of Evening in California."

Ana Tanner Greene, a daughter of Athena, gasped.

"The golden apples of Hera?" She guessed excitedly, her grayish-silver eyes gleaming.

Chiron nodded unwillingly. "They were a wedding present to Hera from Gaea. She planted it in the Garden of Evening and ordered a dragon to guard it."

"So naturally she would be protective of it." Mackenzie Felicia Brookes, a daughter of Demeter, finished.

I sat in silent horror. How was Monica supposed to lead a quest to California to retrieve the apples of immortality? She could hardly get her cabin to Archery class on time!

"Who could've stolen Hera's apples?" Ashlynn Marie brooks asked. She was a daughter of Zeus and didn't look like she wanted to give Hera anything back.

We all shrugged, absolutely confused.

"Atlas." My half-sister, Effie Gwen Cooper, suggested timidly. I turned to stare at her curiously. She was new, so I decided to bring her to the meeting. Hey, I didn't know that there was going to be a huge prophecy!

"What?" Someone, I think it was Ian, asked scornfully.

"Well, Heracles used Atlas to get the golden apples, right?" She challenged, warming up to her topic. "Heracles had to hold up the sky and Atlas was going to ditch him, but Heracles tricked him into getting back under the sky."

"Thank you Effie." Chiron said, looking grateful, as if he didn't want to tell the myth. It wasn't really a myth though-a story?

"Effie, go see if Monica is awake." I demanded. She nodded and walked out, her bright ginger hair bouncing behind her.

I sighed and rubbed my temples, leaning on the table with my elbows, as Liam patted me soothingly on the back. This counselor thing was stressful. Chiron evidently noticed.

"Go get some dinner and rest." He ordered us. "We'll meet again next morning. Counselors only." I blushed as he gave me a deliberate glance.

We left with relieved sighs into the cool air to gather our cabins and head to the pavilion. I sat next to Effie, who listened intently as I explained Camp Half-Blood.

"How was Monica?" I asked when I was done, noticing Madison sitting at her cabin's table. Her dark brown eyes glittered worriedly as they snuck a glance toward the infirmary.

"Still unconscious." Effie answered quietly. "She was talking in her sleep, like she was having a conversation with someone."

"Must've been Iris. Her mother." I guessed, answering Effie's confused look.

"I was told that the gods can visit us in our dreams. Is it true?" Effie sounded eager to meet Apollo.

I nodded slowly. "Yes, but not often. Believe me, I've met Apollo. It's not all it's cracked up to be."

Thunder rumbled in the sky. I rolled my eyes at it.

"Why don't you come down here yourself, Dad?" I mocked, feeling a tiny bit guilty but more angry. To say the least, I was not impressed by Apollo.

Effie eyed me like I was about to explode, which I assumed was plausible.

"C'mon, it's time for campfire." I told her. She got up and scooted away from me, as if I were a ticking bomb.

We led the sing-along like always, but my heart wasn't in it. People gave me weird looks because usually I'm the best singer in the Camp. But there was a dangerous prophecy that my friend was supposed to lead and she was currently in a coma from the shock. She wasn't ready for this.

I led my campers back to the Apollo cabin, which gleamed in the sunset. We climbed into bed, calling out the latest gossip from the campfire and "good nights".

"Lights out!" I called when they were ready. I turned my head into the pillow, trying to sleep and not worry. And for once, Apollo listened to my prayer because I was soon asleep.

First, my dream was black. Pure black, as if I was in the Underworld. A flash of gold entered my vision. An apple hovered in front of me, just out of my reach. It was gilded with the expensive metallic sheen. A laugh chilled my bones as I reached for it, snatching the apple away. A crown fell, accompanied by immortal screams of pain.

I sat up in my bed. A shimmer of sunlight rested on my eyes. My chest heaved, and my head echoed with the shrieks of agony.

"Everyone up!" I called, my voice shaking. The few up turned to give me concerned looks. I shook my head at them.

I couldn't go to Chiron immediately. I had an obligation to the campers. So I took them to breakfast. People told me I looked pale. I glared them down, the pounding in my head increasing with every comment.

After a horrible breakfast, we met in the rec room again.

"Are you okay?" Liam asked, staring at me with wide eyes.

"You really have a way to make a girl feel good about her appearance." I grumbled angrily, rubbing my temples again.

"I'm sorry." He apologized guiltily, patting me on the back again.

"Monica is awake." Chiron announced, cutting off the little conversations the counselors were having.

Monica walked in the door, her face pale. She had a reluctant look on her face.

"I have chosen who I'd like to take on my quest, if they agree." She announced, looking as if she really didn't want to.

"Go on." Dionysus told her. We glanced at him in surprise. "This is getting interesting." H explained. We all rolled our eyes, which made my head burn.

"JT." She said. He nodded and smiled reassuringly at her.

"Ian." She turned to him.

"Sure." He didn't look thrilled, but he would.

"Ashlynn."

"Fine, but I don't want to leave Astra." Ashlynn looked worried.

"She'll be fine." I soothed her, completely confident my second-in-command would be okay.

"Jessie." She told us her next choice. We turned to look at Jessie in shock. He wasn't social, so why did Monica pick him? He shrugged, which we took for a yes.

"And Michelle?" She turned to me with her kaleidoscopic eyes begging.

I took a deep breath and nodded. Chiron looked at Monica expectantly. She gave him a typical Monica style _are you crazy?_ Look.

"That's it." She told us.

"You leave tonight. Say your goodbyes." Chiron said, an ominous ring to his voice.


	3. Goodbyes

**AN-So, no one reviewed my other story. C'mon, I'm begging here. You people are really starting to tick me off. JK, but still, review!**

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

Goodbyes

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><p>Ian's POV<p>

It was hard to leave. Well, it wasn't hard to leave behind the Aphrodite clique, but my friends were sad to see me go.

Don't get me wrong, I wanted to be on this quest. Even if I had to be with that annoying Monica girl, at least I had my friends, JT and Jessie.

JT was a really fun guy before the accident, but he was really secluded now. I hadn't heard the whole story, I didn't think even Monica had. And she knows pretty much everything there is to know about JT. JT's still a great guy, even if he's gloomy.

Jessie was a loner and quiet. He's reserved and kind of secretive. He has light gray hair with black streaks that even I was surprised to find out it was natural. Yeah, it just screams _I'm a happy person who you'd love to hang out with_.Actually, he's okay when you get to know him.

But we had to go with Monica, Ashlynn, and Michelle. I was willing to put up with them though. Yeah, the cliché 3 boys and 3 girls on a quest. No way.

I walked back to the Khione cabin and entered. It was alone as usual. I was the only camper, the first child of Khione, the goddess of snow and ice.

The cabin was built out of unmelting ice. A cold wind always blew through the windows, despite the weather, and snow piled in the corners. My bed was made out of ice, with a pillow and no blanket. I didn't get cold. Freezing vapor curled off everything. Blizzards were ordinary events.

I'm just saying, I was really good at snowball fighting.

I packed my bag with my toothbrush, sleeping bag, and drachmas. Y'know, just in case we were stuck in the wilderness. The prophecy did say wild. I packed some food and clothes, then I laid down in my bed to wait.

My grayish-black eyes closed against the snow ceiling. Hey, I was tired!

So, I was understandably surprised to have Jessie waking me up. By poking me with an icicle. Seriously?

Let's just say he was thrown out the door, covered in snow and shaking.

When I looked outside, it was evening, and a crowd of kids and a centaur stood outside. Mr. D evidently wasn't important enough to come. A wicked smile crossed my face. I had ideas for that second-rate god.

"Alright, I'm coming!" I screamed out the window. A freezing wind swept through the gathering. Some shivered, but I saw a couple shrug it off.

I grabbed my bag and followed Jessie to the group. Ashlynn was hugging her sister, Astra, while Michelle was instructing her to keep the Apollo cabin organized when she was gone. As soon as she was done coaching Astra, Michelle turned and locked her brother, Liam, in a hug.

Jessie was talking with his best friend, Jake Graner, a son of Hermes (AN-I didn't know, so I made it up 'cuz I was too lazy to PM sister-of-the-devil and figure it out). Jake's eyes kept flicking to where Monica was, surrounded by her friends.

Monica was talking with Amberly Justice, Angie Stevenson, Jamie Tattenai, Joana Jones, and Kimberly Trix. Well, they were swarming around her, chatting about how lucky she was to be leading a quest while she turned increasingly greener. Eventually, when she looked like she was about to puke over herself, JT and Ana Greene came and rescued her.

"Okay, are the quest members packed?" Chiron yelled, breaking up the tearful goodbyes. We all nodded as Ashlynn wiped her cheeks and Michelle sighed unhappily.

"Drachmas, change of clothes, toothbrush, sleeping bag, and food?" He shouted over the rush of people leaving.

We agreed again. He opened his mouth like he was going to warn us, but instead he said nothing.

"Are they finally gone?" Mr. D's drawling voice came from the Big House. I frowned. He was undoubtedly playing pinochle and drinking Diet Coke.

My mouth turned up at the corners as his voice got closer. The quest members, except for me, stepped over the borderline to the waiting Pegasi there. They fluttered their wings anxiously around Jessie, but allowed him to come on when Monica came over to talk with them. (See The Lost Hero when they're on the chariot).

I hovered along the edge, grinning like crazy. As soon as Mr. D's foot reached the bottom stair, a slick of ice froze underneath it. He fell with a resounding and hilarious crash.

I melted away the ice before he was recovered enough to look. I ran over the line, beaming like a madman, and I leaped onto my white Pegasus. Hmm, white, that's nice.

An explosion of purple burst up beneath us as we flew away.

"Are they okay?" Monica shrieked over the wind.

"They're fine." Michelle screamed back, leaning dangerously far over her Pegasus' right wing.

"Where do we go?" Ashlynn said, lowering the wind.

"West." Monica said. We rolled our eyes.

"We'll just keep flying until we need to land." JT said confidently. I could tell he was worried though.

Jessie said nothing. He looked queasy at being in the air.

"Or until one of us pukes over the side." Ashlynn said, giving Jessie a pointed look. Of course, she wouldn't get sick. She looked right at home.

"Remind me, why the Hades are we in the air?" Jessie asked. He didn't look like he'd be opening his mouth anytime soon.

"Because it's faster than land and Ashlynn will keep us from being blown out of existence." JT answered.

We fell silent as we rose into cooler air, which didn't bother me.

I turned my head to look at the Khione cabin, glowing bluish-white in the sunset's light. It looked remote and cold, as if waiting for me to turn around and come back home.

I had a feeling one of us wouldn't be coming back.

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><p><strong>AN-Dramatic much? Oh well, next chapter is where the real action starts! Oh, and I gave Jessie air-sickness because his father is a god of the Underworld, so yeah. So please, review and hope you liked this chapter!<strong>

**~Queenie~ (I'll be signing like that from now on)**


	4. A Goddess's Whims

**Okay, I'm going to NYC on Sunday, so I probably, maybe won't update until after that. Maybe I'll be able to update once. Hopefully :)**

**Also, thank you to everyone who favorited or alerted :)**

**And for DemiGodLover, I added a monster attack. I was almost about to end it sooner, but I added one. It's probably not goo, but I decided what the heck, ill add it!**

**SLCTFREAK, thank you for reviewing my other story, that really made my day :)**

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

A Goddess's Whim

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><p>JT POV<p>

It was fun being on a Pegasus. Ashlynn had died the wind down so we flew without a sound. Michelle had fallen asleep against her Pegasus's neck.

I fiddled with my watch, accidently slowing down time. Monica shot me an annoyed glance, and I resisted the urge to laugh. She would definitely hear, and I really didn't need an annoyed daughter of Iris on my case. Believe me, that sucked.

Jessie was looking paler than usual, as if he were about to blow chunks. I urged my Pegasus away from him, because I really did not want to see that.

My eyes closed against my will. I blinked them open. Monica flew over with a pat on her Pegasus.

"You can get some rest." She told me, smiling. I nodded back, already half-asleep. My eyes drifted closed again.

When they opened again, I was staring into Monica's concerned face on solid ground. Blue sky surrounded her head like a halo. My head throbbed. My hand encountered a large bruise on the back.

"Ugh-what happened?" I croaked, my mouth parched.

"The Pegasi started to go down, even though me and Ashlynn hadn't told them so." She explained, giving me a bit of ambrosia. "When we landed, you fell off."

"Yep. Who could've told the Pegasi to land?" I asked, my head beginning to feel better. That sounded like me, falling off a flying horse when it had already landed.

"I did." A honey-sweet voice said. I turned to see a stunning woman standing in the clearing. For a moment, she had straight black hair and warm iridescent eyes. Then, she changed to a fair-skinned woman with wavy brown hair and clear blue eyes. My heart ached; she looked like Lani would've if she had lived to 19.

"Aphrodite." I spoke bitterly. It wasn't her fault Lani died.

"Yes." She said simply. Her face frowned; she looked years older than she was. Well, she was immortal, but still.

"Why are you here?" Monica asked as the rest of us watched with mixed looks of disgust, confusion, and boredom.

"I need your help." The goddess confessed desperately.

"With what?" Ashlynn asked. Her eyes gleamed with suspicion. I'd heard about what happened to her mother, how she fell in love with two gods at first and then an abusive man, who beat her and Astra. I really didn't think she would be thanking Aphrodite anytime soon.

"Actually, I need to help you. This quest is more important than you realize. Those apples are what make ambrosia and nectar. They essentially make the gods immortal." Aphrodite described, sitting on a patch of grass.

"I thought they just moved with the Western civilization." Jessie acknowledged, finally looking interested in the conversation.

"Yes, but they need the golden apples. The apples symbolize peace and prosperity, something that is rapidly diminishing in mortal society. They essentially give the gods their powers. Even mine."

"What would happen if we didn't recover the apples?" I asked. She sighed, looking miserable. It just didn't look right on her face, being so depressed. Her wavy hair fluttered in the wind.

"The gods would lose their powers. The Earth wouldn't end, but mortals would be thrown into ruin. The very fabric of balance between the sanity of humans would be torn to shreds. It would be a living nightmare. No one could die, because Hades would be gone. No one could live either. Essentially, all humans would be thrown into limbo until their body starves to death for water. And then their souls would be lost to Chaos forever." Aphrodite said quietly.

We were stunned into silence for a moment. It was too horrible to imagine, and I had a feeling Aphrodite hadn't told us all of it.

"What do you mean by gone?" Michelle asked, sounding horrified. She looked as dismayed as I felt.

"I mean that they would be incinerated by their very beings, so in pain that they burn up. Their powers would fade with them. You know that burning, sort of feverish feeling you demigods get if you eat too much ambrosia?" Aphrodite asked, almost nonchalantly.

We nodded for her to go on, shuddering with the memory of the last kid who ate too much, Nate Archer, a son of Apollo. He literally burned up from the inside, screaming with agony. Not pleasant to listen to.

"That's what the gods feel if they don't eat ambrosia. Or drink nectar."

"So that's what my dream meant." Michelle looked like she'd had a breakthrough.

"What dream?" Ian asked, so upset over what would happen if we didn't finish our quest that he forgot to add a derisive edge to his voice.

"In my dream, it was black. Then, I had a vision of a golden apple. A voice started to laugh as I grabbed it, as if it had planned for it or it just knew that it was too late. A crown fell down, and there were people screaming. As if being burned alive." She ended with a frightened tone.

Monica and Ashlynn comforted her as Aphrodite sat in thoughtful silence. She coiled a lock of her hair around her finger.

"Well, I don't know what that means." She finally said. "But I'm still here to help you."

"Lady Aphrodite, if this isn't one of your _love_ missions, why did you come?" Ian asked, a bit of a sarcastic tone back to his voice.

"I came because I'm the last child of Uranus." She replied, looking a bit peeved at the love mission thing. "Therefore, I'm stronger than the other Olympians. But, I'm still vulnerable. I cannot come back to you in the mortal world, except for dire emergencies."

"What do you want to help us with?" Monica asked.

"I'm here to give you advice and as much help as I and the other Olympians can. But you need to do something for me first."

"Why?" Jessie asked, looking exasperated rather than bored. It was a start.

"To prove you're worthy, of course. What's a quest without doing something for a goddess?" She beamed, suddenly transforming to a peppy and mischievous goddess instead of the tired and helpless one.

"Fine, what is it?" Monica asked as we all looked at her.

"You need to go to the Underworld. All of this almost being incinerated risk is making me exhausted. So, go to the Underworld and fetch me some of Persephone's beauty." Aphrodite exclaimed impishly.

We sat in astonished silence. My day was just getting better and better. Well night, since night had fallen by this time.

"Fine." Monica grumbled after meeting all of our eyes. "Will you be able to get it once we return to the mortal world?"

"Yep." The goddess nodded enthusiastically.

"Wait." Ian said. "Why can't you get it yourself?"

"It takes too much energy that we can't spare to travel to or from the Underworld. Well, good luck!" With that, she disappeared in a cloud of wispy, pale pink smoke.

I sat in surprise and grief. Lani was gone again. And Aphrodite wanted us to go to the Underworld and get her _beauty_? Was she serious?

"We need the advice and help." Monica said after a while. She spoke grudgingly.

The rest of us nodded. We didn't want to go to the Underworld, least of all for Aphrodite's narcissism. But we really couldn't ignore the deteriorated gods' wills.

"Let's go." I groaned, getting to my feet.

A growl interrupted us as we mounted our Pegasi. Four freaking _massive_ hellhounds stalked out of the woods, curling back their lips to show yellowed canines as long as my arm.

"Chaos must being fueling them." Monica looked shaken as the oversized hounds crept our way. They snarled, white frothing at their mouth like they had rabies.

"Split up." I advised. Ashlynn and Michelle went for one and Jessie and Ian attacked the other. Monica and I went solo.

I pulled out my sword and slashed at its neck. The hellhound moved out of the way, faster than a snake striking, and tried to bite my arm. I sidestepped and sliced my sword down the hound's side. It howled in pain and tried to maul me again. I slid along its back and carved down its other side, slowing down time as it twisted to rake its claws at me.

The hound whined and melted into shadow. I sheathed my sword, breathing heavily, as Monica pushed me to my Pegasus.

"Hurry, we have to hurry." She muttered, glancing over her shoulder as she mounted her own Pegasus, which bucked into the air. Her blue t-shirt was ripped, and her skin was bleeding. She crammed a square of ambrosia into her mouth. The skin healed back over.

"Chaos is making the monsters stronger." Jessie said as Ashlynn started slowing the wind. We flew rapidly west.

"We need Aphrodite's help." Monica said reluctantly, brushing her hot pink bangs out of her face. They were a result of her insulting the Aphrodite cabin.

"We could go to the Door of Orpheus." Michelle advised, pointing toward north.

"Fine." Monica agreed, resting her head on her Pegasus's neck.

The wind whistled without sound, blowing our hair and torn clothes. Stars twinkled above us, closer than the dangerous ground.

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><p><strong>Yay, it's done! i think this is my longest chapter. tell me how it's going! :) this was more of a filler chapter so we didn't see much of JT's personality, so sorry :( if you hadn't noticed, i like making smilies...and frownies, but hopefully not as often<strong>

**Review! Right down there! The pretty blue button!**

**~Queen~**


	5. The Underworld

**Yay! (I seem to like that word) Your comments were so nice :) that I decided to update. This is where the character dies. To be honest, I didn't know who it as going to be until I started this chapter. If you felt sorry for JT in the last chapter, get ready to feel even sorrier, the poor guy. I just love the seeing his dead girlfriend everywhere thing-I'm such a romantic 3**

**I hope I have fun in NYC too! And I update quickly because I really like this story, the OCs, and the plot, so yeah :)**

**Oh, and I don't have the books. So I'm basing this on memory and what I think the Underworld looks like :)**

**This is my longest chapter and my favorite so far, even if it was done in about 6 hours.**

**Disclaimer-I do not own PJO, these characters (except for Monica), Aladdin, or Harry Potter, from which I use a line in this. I keep forgetting this damn thing!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 5<p>

The Underworld

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><p>Ashlynn's POV<p>

I was scared stiff. I tried to concentrate on slowing the wind, sleeping, anything but the fact that we were going to the Underworld. It was my worst nightmare, under the ground-the opposite of my father and my domain.

The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon when we landed. I'm not sure what the mortals saw because a couple out running started screaming and ran the opposite direction.

We slid off and gathered next to an ordinary pile of rocks.

"It needs music." Jessie said, leaning against a tree, looking disinterested.

"I can sing. I'm the best in camp." Michelle told him proudly. Ian rolled his eyes and gave her an _it's all yours_ motion.

Ellie began to sing brightly. It was enchanting and just as good as any professional singer. The rocks opened with a loud rumbling to reveal a yawning black passage that for some reason reminded me of the sand lion in the beginning of _Aladdin_.

Jessie went in first, like it was home which I guess it was. Monica followed him, her kaleidoscopic eyes sparkling with interest. Ian went in next, his footsteps crunching up little blizzards around his ankles. JT and Michelle followed them. I went in last, looking longingly up to the sky, and breathing in the fresh air. The Door of Orpheus closed behind me.

A handful of multicolored light sparkled to life in Monica's palm. Her face reflected back, scared and anxious. Michelle followed her example, though it was weaker.

"Let's go." Monica said. "Follow Jessie." She pointed to his retreating figure.

We met with Jessie when he was stopped dead in front of Cerberus. The Rottweiler was snarling at us, a horrible reminder of the brutal hellhounds.

"Why can't you make it move?" Ian asked Jessie angrily, who looked insulted.

"It only listens to Hades, the Olympians, Persephone, and Hades' children." He explained in a distant, thoughtful tone. "I'm only a child of Moros."

"How can we get it to move?" Ellie wondered aloud as we stared down the dog.

"We can't just kill him." I interrupted Jessie and Ian's plan. They scowled.

Monica, meanwhile, stomped up to Cerberus and threw something at him. It was a bit of ambrosia. She threw two more to the other heads.

We slid by the three-headed best while it was distracted chewing on the food. My eyes widened at the Fields of Asphodel. It was gray and drained, like an eternal waiting feeling. It was like the dead were anticipating something that was never going to happen.

We stopped by a crowd of the dead spirits. One floated closer. It chatted like a tweeting bird. It was light and so high I couldn't make it out.

Jessie's face fell as he made it out. He turned to Jessie and pointed at the spirit, concentrating. It took on a vaguely humanoid appearance. It was a fair-skinned woman with wavy dark brown hair and crystal blue eyes. She looked a year or two younger than me, but it was hard to tell with the dead, just like with immortals.

JT looked like he had been shot. He staggered back a few steps.

"Hey JT." The dead girl said, smiling at the astounded demigod.

"Lani?" JT whispered, coming closer to peer into the girl's face. She grinned effortlessly, but I noticed she was crying. Smiling but crying.

"Don't blame anyone for my death." She said softly, her voice getting distant. Jessie began to shake with the effort.

"But Lani!" JT cried, tears forming in his hazel eyes. "You can't leave again!"

"I have to JT. I've reconciled with my death. Please, just don't blame yourself. Don't worry, you'll move on." She assured him before lifting her hand to try to touch his face. Her hand disappeared before it could. She changed back into a spirit. Her hair, face, and eyes misted away. Her voice changed back to the incomprehensible twittering.

JT sat down hard, put his eyes into his knees, and began to sob. We shifted uncomfortably until Monica sat down and wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

"How were you able to do that?" Ian asked Jessie.

"Her death caused so much tragedy, and it was such a disaster, that I could connect to her spirit through my father's powers as the god of doom and tragedy." Jessie rationalized, turning back to his normal skin shade after being ashen.

"C'mon, we have to go." I urged them, feeling uneasy as the spirits of the dead rustled uncomfortably.

JT got up, wiped his eyes, and we set off for the throne room. It was dark and filled with black marble and skulls. Black vines twisted around the columns, complete with huge thorns. A black throne sat against the far side. It seemed to want to impress with its own importance, made of thick black marble and carved with skulls. The other was graceful and innocent, despite also being made of black marble. It was adorned with carved flowers and vines.

A woman sat in the second throne. She had thick black hair and sincere brown eyes. She seemed tired by the way she slouched on her throne. The other one appeared empty with hers filled. She looked up, and her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Demigods, why are you here?" Her tone was commanding, almost haughty, and I felt my face settle into a cold and hostile mask. Something about this goddess just ticked me off.

"Lady Persephone, we have come on a mission for Aphrodite." Monica said bravely, but I could see her shaking. Was she as scared by this room as I was?

"Aphrodite sent you?" She lifted a perfectly arched eyebrow.

"Yes. We need, ah, some of your, um, beauty?" Monica admitted, her voice getting quieter with each word until she was barely audible.

"She sent you to do _what_?" Persephone screamed, shaking the room. Columns crashed to the ground as the supporting vines crumbled into dust.

"Ah!" I squealed, leaping to the center of the room and glaring at the furious goddess.

"After that insufferable daughter-in-law of hers, she wants _more_ of my beauty? Psyche was bad enough, but a demigod daughter of Iris _dares_ to ask me for my beauty. During winter, no less!" She ranted, pacing back and forth.

"Who was Psyche?" Ellie asked us, but Persephone heard. The goddess collapsed into her throne as if exhausted by her tirade.

"Psyche was a mortal that was apparently so beautiful, the mortals began to worship her instead of Aphrodite. Aphrodite got jealous and ordered Eros, her son, to cause Psyche to fall in love with a monster." She explained.

"But he didn't, right?" JT guessed, still looking shocked at seeing Lani.

"No." The goddess sighed as if everything would have been easier if he had. "Eros was so stunned at seeing her awake, even though he was invisible, that he accidently pricked himself on his own arrow. To make a long story short, they got married and fell in love." Her voice was harsh. "She disobeyed him, he got angry, and she had to complete three tasks for Aphrodite before they could be reunited."

"What were the three tasks?" Ian asked.

"I don't know the first two." Persephone confessed. "But the third was to get some of my beauty. At least you six didn't think of jumping off a tower. Anyway, when she received my generously given beauty,"-I rolled my eyes-"she opened it when she reached the surface, and she fell asleep. Blah, blah, blah, Eros saved her and Zeus turned her immortal. Happy ending." Her voice was as bitter as if she were sucking on a lemon by the end.

"Lady Persephone, please, can we have some of your beauty? We're trying to help the gods by recovering the stolen golden apples." Monica pleaded, looking scared.

The goddess's eyes narrowed spitefully. "Since I asked for nothing last time, I will take something this time. I want the life of one of your quest members."

My mouth dropped and I could see similar looks of shock on my friends' faces. We huddled into a group.

"Guys, we can't just let her kill one of us." Ellie argued violently. JT agreed, looking as if he would like to join Lani here.

"We need the advice and help." I pointed out, and everyone reluctantly agreed with me. We turned to face the smug-looking Persephone.

"Who?" Monica asked.

She raised a dainty hand and pointed to me. I turned ice cold as vines crept along my body, wrapping me tighter than a mummy.

Astra! I thought in a panic. I couldn't just die. She needed me!

"I'll take my half-sister." Persephone purred evilly. "Ashlynn, is it? You make a good point-you _do_ need the advice and aid. Even if it's from Aphrodite."

I struggled against my bonds, but they were as hard as steel cords. My powers wouldn't work. I was feeling the vines draining me of my will to live, to just give in and forget about Astra and the quest, to stay with my ruthless half-sister forever.

"Here's my beauty." Persephone waved a hand carelessly, making an ornate black box appear. A black orchid graced the top of it.

Monica reached out and caught it. She seemed to be the only one of the group not frozen in horror. She met my eyes and gave me a determined glance.

"And don't open it this time." Persephone laughed, waving her hand again. My friends disappeared in a black cloud, and she turned to me. Her brown eyes glittered but showed no warmth. She looked absolutely evil.

"Now, Ashy"-I hated that name-"Don't resist. It'll be over shortly."

And that was when my vision turned black, and I stopped struggling.

* * *

><p><strong>Ha Ha! Evil laugh! Didn't expect that, did ya? And yes, Ashlynn is dead. But, I have some twists in the plot. So don't feel bad. I'm not going to tell you though :) So don't leave a bad review because she died.<strong>

**And you've seen a much more ruthless Persephone. Maybe being stuck in the Underworld finally got to her, or she's just ticked for no reason. I'm not sure, but it was fun to write.**

**Oh, maybe I'll go to the Empire State Building and ask for the six hundredth floor, just to see what the person would do. That would be epic!**

**Did anyone catch the HP reference? It was from the Sorcerer's Stone/Philosopher's Stone depending on where you live.**

**~Queen of NYC (not really but I wish I was)~**


	6. Poison

**Okay, i am so, so sorry for the wait. I didn't really have a writer's block, more like I had a case of I already had this typed up, but I was just too damn lazy to upload it.**

**And I changed my name. It's an inside joke, because if you like Doctor Who, you hopefully know the Master. And my friend wrote about him:"He's evil and egotistical. He argues with the Doctor and loves meat. He's blond and wears a black hoodie. **

**Which pretty much describes me! I'm blond, wear black, argue a lot, am evil, egotistical, and I LOVE meat!**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 6<p>

Poison

* * *

><p>Jessie POV<p>

"No, no, no, no, no." Monica sobbed into thin air, hugging the black box to her chest like it would bring Ash back.

JT looked like he was about to go back to the Underworld and get Zeus's daughter back.

Michelle's mouth was dropped open, frozen in shock.

Ian made snowstorms randomly pop up, his expression varying between thoughtful and furious.

And me-I seethed. I was enraged. How could Persephone be so shallow as to kill Ashlynn?

"That b**ch." Ian said loudly, stomping his foot and freezing the snow around us into ice.

"What the Hades was she thinking?" Monica asked no one in particular.

"She was bitter." Aphrodite's smooth voice said.

The goddess appeared, looking more tired than ever.

"We have your beauty." Monica trust the box at Aphrodite like it was something disgusting she had found.

The goddess smiled as she took the box. At once, her hair was shinier, her eyes sparkling, and her skin smoother.

"Thank you, demigods. I am sorry that it came at such a price. It was necessary."

"Necessary?" I asked, dumbfounded. "It was necessary for that Persephone bitch to murder Ash?"

She glared at me and my shirt immediately felt hot.

"I am not yet weak enough for you to challenge me, demigod." She warned. "I do have advice and help, like I promised."

"What is it?" Ian asked impatiently, as Michelle looked like she wanted to second the question but was too scared.

"The daughter of Zeus's fate is not as hopeless as you may think. Go west, just outside the area called The Wild. It surrounds the Garden of Evening."

"Okay, anything else?" JT asked.

"Just outside of The Wild, there is a lake, invisible to mortals and most demigods. It is the lake of Ogygia, Calypso's island. There, you will find help and friends." The goddess said, tossing her hair and disappearing.

"Great. How in the world are we going to get there?" Monica asked, looking tired and hopeless.

A neigh interrupted our brainstorm. Six Pegasi flew down, making our faces frown as we thought of Ash.

"We'll get her back." Michelle said determinedly. We all nodded as we mounted and took off west.

We stopped as the sun went down, too exhausted to fly any longer.

"I'll take first watch." I offered. Monica had bags under her eyes, Michelle was yawning, and JT looked like he was going to collapse.

"You sure?" Ian asked, his grayish-black eyes studying me.

I nodded. He shrugged and went to sleep.

I couldn't fall asleep. It was like I was waiting for someone, as if I were in the Asphodel Fields.

Around morning, I knew because I could just see the sun, Monica jolted upright. Her hair was sticking up in clumps and her eyes were bugging out of their sockets.

I stifled a laugh. That would be mean, and I had to get along with these people for the rest of the quest. Monica looked like she'd seen a ghost.

"Get up!" She shouted, probably alerting everything within a half-mile of where we were.

"Huh?" Michelle gasped, sitting up with an exhausted groan.

"Wuzz goin' on?" JT said blurrily. I gave him a weird look. He was too tired to see it.

Monica, meanwhile, was creating a rainbow. She snatched a drachma and threw it into the rainbow.

"Mother, accept my offering." She said, and the rainbow shimmered to show Mackenzie, a daughter of Demeter. She looked relieved.

"Thank the gods. Rachel had another prophecy about your quest."

"What is it?" I demanded. Normally, I wouldn't do that, but for the gods sakes, I was ticked.

Mackenzie took a deep breath and began to recite. "The rainbow child will be meet more/ Friends with secrets, living at the core/ A lightning shroud may not be burned/ And a forgotten god to be returned."

"What could that mean?" Michelle wondered. We stood in silence as the sun inched higher.

"Well, I dunno." The daughter of Demeter confessed. "But I gotta go. And Jessie, Effie says hi."

The rainbow disappeared with Mackenzie's smirk.

I was stunned.

"C'mon, let's go." JT urged as a hissing came from the woods. We turned around as a Hydra stalked out. Instead of seven heads, it had fourteen.

"We can't escape." Monica said, gritting her teeth.

One head reached out and bit me on the side. I gasped as the fangs tore through the flesh, bone, and tendon. I ripped my ribs out of its grasp, wincing at the pain.

My side was destroyed. Poison began to hiss through my body. I gasped for air.

JT and Ian jumped in front of me as I staggered back. Ian froze the head, panting with exhaustion. Monica and Michelle weaved through the heads, untouchable, as they blinded the Hydra with handfuls of light.

Then, Michelle screamed. Everyone turned to look at her. Blood was pouring out of her arm, and the Hydra was pulled back to strike again.

JT whipped his sword down the head's neck. It thudded to the ground heavily. Two more grew instantly. One raked its fangs through his ankle. He clutched at it.

"Ugh!" Monica screamed in frustration as she and Ian looked at the three of us. She waved her hand, and I felt a warm feeling around my stomach. My vision went blurry, and I thought I was dead for a moment, but I focused on a deserted clearing.

"What should I do?" Ian asked Ellie. He was the only one not poisoned or unconscious, since Monica had collapsed after transporting us via rainbow to wherever we were.

"Freeze...over...the...wounds." Michelle instructed between gasps. Ian laid his hand on her arm. She sucked in her breath quickly, but released it as a thick layer of ice created a make-shift cast over her arm. Ian did the same for JT, then he came over to me.

I could tell I was dying. My chest was getting tighter and tighter to breathe, never mind the pain. My destroyed side was drenched in dried and fresh blood. My mouth was dry.

"Are you okay?" Ian asked, bending over me.

"Uhh." I groaned, half-conscious. He pressed his bloody palm to my side. It burned for a moment, but then a chill crept across the twin puncture wounds.

A bush rustled. Ian tensed, twirling to look at it. His sword was drawn.

Nothing happened. A bird called to another, and the other tweeted back closer to us.

Then, the bush rustled too much to be the wind. Ian's icicles flew toward it, but they melted away as soon as they neared the bush. A person walked out, hands up in surrender.

From my sideways position on the dirt, I could see small, bare feet with jeans.

Looking higher, I saw a pale face surrounded by waist-length, black ringlets. The girl glared at me with bright and cold silver eyes.

Her mouth opened in surprise as she looked at the three injured demigods, the one unconscious one, and Ian. Then it snapped shut in determination.

"They need help." She said, backing into the brush.

"What?" I managed, staring at her curiously. Ian said nothing.

"Hmm?" Monica yawned as she woke up.

"Come. Pick him up, carry him, and follow me." The girl beckoned.

A pale boy peered at us with golden eyes. As soon as he saw me, he rushed to help.

"Who are you?" Monica asked curiously.

The boy opened his mouth to answer, but closed it quickly as the girl gave him a glare.

"I'm Anya, and this is Jase. We know help for these three." She motioned toward the limping JT, Michelle, who seemed relatively ok except for her iced-over arm, and me, who had to be humiliatingly carried, not that I noticed through the burning sensation in my side.

"Where are we?" Ian asked.

"You're near Ogygia." The boy, Jase, pointed to the lake that I hadn't noticed before he mentioned it. Everyone else except the girl looked surprised.

"You are near the Wild. We live just outside it. You must hurry, your friend is dying." She pointed to me.

I passed out, watching the girl lead us farther away from the Lake of Ogygia.

* * *

><p><strong>New OCs! They're mine, just so you know. Does anyone have any ideas of who they are? Or where they're going? :)<strong>

**~Emma, The Master's Daughter!~**


	7. Revival

**okay, I'm feeling so bad right now. I just abandoned this story, you reviewers have every right to flame me. I totally deserve it. I'm soooooo sorry. I was working on my other story, 20 questions, which is a Thalico story, and I just abandoned this. I'm SOO sorry! I'm just getting ready for High School too, I'm going to be a freshman (I still can't believe it). Here's where I would list more excuses, but I just hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. Review with advice, critisism, praise, ideas, flames, or if you just liked it, which I hope you do!**

**Disclaimer-I don't own PJO or any character other than Anya, Jase, and Monica**

* * *

><p>Chapter 7<p>

Revival

* * *

><p>Monica POV<p>

The strange girl, Anya, led us to a cabin on the very edge of the lake.

She slid inside the door, calling to someone inside.

An old man with bright blue eyes hurried out as the boy with blond hair and pale gold eyes, Jase, put Jessie down.

"What happened?" He gasped, kneeling to inspect Jessie's side.

"Hydra." I explained, staring as the man poured nectar over Jessie's bloody side. He began to mutter a hymn to Apollo.

I watched in fascination as the side healed over, blood disappearing. It looked flawlessly new.

"Who are you?" Michelle asked in shy wonder, eyes glued to Jessie's newly-repaired skin.

"Asclepius, god of medicine. Well, minor god." He admitted.

"Son of Apollo?" I asked, struggling to remember. Hey, don't blame me, I was exhausted.

He nodded, frowning as he concentrated on JT's ankle. Sweat began to drip off his face.

"Who are you?" I asked the two teens, who were standing nearby, looking uncomfortable.

They exchanged glances, appearing to have an argument.

"Jase, son of Hyperion, Titan of the Sun." The boy said eventually, smiling easily.

"What about her?" Ian gestured toward the girl, who stuck her tongue out at him childishly. He rolled his eyes.

"That's Anya, daughter of Selene, Titan of the Moon, and my cousin." Jase said. "She's not as friendly as me."

"I can tell." I said sarcastically. Anya rolled her silvery eyes at her cousin.

"Who're you?" Jase asked.

"I'm Monica Aylmer, daughter of Iris. That's Jessie Dollien, a son of Moros, Michelle Skye, a daughter of Apollo, JT Anderson, a son of Kronos, and Ian Colt, a son of Khione." I introduced, pointing to the demigods in turn as they waved or nodded or, in Jessie's case, did nothing, to Jase and Anya.

"So, what are you demigods doing?" Anya demanded, her eyes fixed coldly on us.

"We're on a quest to get the Apples of Immortality to save the gods." JT explained, rolling his healed ankle experimentally.

"The Garden of Evening?" Anya asked, her voice shocked as her pale face showed no expression.

We nodded as Jessie groaned and Michelle hissed from the nectar dripping over her arm, the sound making it sound like sizzling acid.

"Great. Just perfect. By the gods, why there? Why us?" She groaned, pacing furiously across the clearing.

Jase shrugged as we looked at him curiously. "We can take you there."

"No!" Anya screamed. We all flinched as she whirled on her cousin furiously, though Jase didn't, as if he was used to her screaming. "I'm not going back to that hellhole."

"Anya and I were raised there when our mortal parents died. Selene and Hyperion couldn't raise us because they were fading-" His face turned slightly bitter. "-so Atlas and the nymphs raised us."

"It was horrible." Anya explained, looking slightly calmer. "We only survived that damn dragon because we were half-Titan, and we had good reflexes. I can't count how many times it almost bit my head off."

"How did you escape?" I asked as Jessie revived himself, looking around with a groan.

"We ran away four years ago when we were 10. I'm glad we met Asclepius, or else we wouldn't have lived. We've never been out of the Garden before that."

"We've never been out of Camp Half-Blood." Jessie offered as he sat up with a small moan of pain. Asclepius walked inside to cabin to get some ambrosia.

"Never?" Anya asked bitterly.

"Well, when we were born, we were with our mortal families. Then, we all found Camp sooner or later." JT explained.

"I was brought to the Garden when I was a year old. Jase was already there, his mother died in childbirth." Anya said coldly.

We sat in shocked silence for a few moments. I was surprised, especially since the Garden of the Evening was always so pretty in the myths. Why would anyone want to leave?

"Will you help us?" Ian asked.

"Yep." Jase nodded immediately, but Anya bit her lip.

"Please?" I added hopefully. She shrugged.

"Sure."

"Wait. You guys look really sad. Did someone die?" Jase asked. Anya threw him a 'you-are-so-freaking-insensitive' look when we all winced.

"Ashlynn, a daughter of Zeus. She was taken by Persephone as a trade for her beauty, which Aphrodite needed so she would help us." JT told the two angrily, who looked increasingly worried.

"That's bad." Anya muttered. "We're going to need her."

"For what?" Michelle asked timidly.

"There is an ancient prophecy that the Oracle of Delphi prophesized that says a daughter of Zeus would kill the dragon that guards the Tree that has-had the apples." Jase explained. His expression brightened almost immediately though, no pun intended.

Anya smiled, her rounded silver eyes lighting with hope. "Asclepius is a god of medicine, but he used to be a mortal. He was killed by Lord Zeus because he could bring people back from the dead. Maybe he could try to bring back your friend."

"Can't hurt, can it?" Ian shrugged. "What do we need?"

"Well, bringing people back is really a type of sorcery. So we need ingredients. One-Persephone's symbol of power." Jase said.

"There were black orchids all over the throne room." JT recalled. I nodded.

"That's definitely her symbol. Gods, at least she could've had black roses." I ranted. Everyone stared.

"What?" I demanded. "I can like black roses; it's not a crime for a daughter of Iris to like dark-colored flowers!"

"Two-Asclepius's daughter, Aceso. She's a minor goddess of healing. She's easy enough though; Asclepius can get her." Anya said, ignoring my rant.

And three-we need something to die in her place. Not a human, but something that has enough energy to replace a human." Jase bit his lower lip in thought.

"A rainbow!" I shouted. "A rainbow could be used. There's a bunch of snow that could be used to reflect it, and there's always more."

"That could work." Asclepius said as he came out of the cabin to hear.

"Let's get to work." I said, beaming.

...

Once Ian and JT had gotten the black orchid, we started.

"How did you get the orchid?" I asked.

"Turning back time." JT panted, looking exhausted.

"Ah."

Aceso and Asclepius began to chant as we placed the black orchid on the snowy ground. I concentrated, feeling energy leaving my body, as a rainbow shone strongly in the center.

Michelle crossed her fingers as the chanting increased in intensity.

A human form began to appear in the center in place of the rainbow. For a minute, it looked like it was made out of rainbow, but then Ashlynn sat up, coughing and gasping, her electric eyes nearly bursting out of her face.

"Ashlynn!" I screamed, throwing myself at her in a hug. Pretty soon, we all had a group hug going, even Jessie reluctantly put his arms around us.

Soon, we pulled away, tears of joy staining our cheeks.

"Was I dead?" Ash asked.

"Yep. How did it feel?" I asked.

"I feel like I was dipped in the Styx twice and had to drink the water. My stomach came back from being dead reluctantly." She groaned.

"That's lovely. Hope you feel better soon because you have to kill a dragon." I said cheerfully.

"Hmm?" She stared open-mouthed as I grinned, completely aware of the fact that I had just told her that we had technically brought her back just in time to kill a dragon. "Who're they?"

"Jase and Anya, son of Hyperion and daughter of Selene." I introduced the two cousins, who looked awkward as they witnessed the reunion.

"Guys, in three days, the gods will fade." Michelle gasped suddenly, clutching her head as if it had split open, her eyes focused on something far away. She recovered almost immediately.

"Well," I smiled at our quest, complete with a revived daughter of Zeus and two demititans. "Let's go then."

* * *

><p><strong>Does anyone want Anya or Jase as a love interest? Anya is more aloof and untrusting and Jase is friendly and outgoing, if you didn't get that from the chapter.<strong>

**Also, I was listening to If I Die Young by The Band Perry writing this, but I don't think it expresses it.**

**Okay, I was thinking 3 more chapters. What do you guys think? I was going to do them in Monica, Anya, and Jase's POV so I don't favor any other people's OCs.**

**Again, SOOO sorry for the wait!**


	8. Haunts

**Disclaimer-I don't own anything but Monica, Jase, or Anya.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 8<p>

Haunts

* * *

><p>Anya's POV<p>

I followed the demigods and my cousin down the path. I could practically see the figures running the other way, ghostly images of Jase and me four years ago.

I could feel a sickening feeling in my stomach as we crept closer to the Garden. The moonlight reflected our bodies in a pale, ghostly light.

We slipped by the Mist barrier, and Monica nearly slammed into the apparition of the nymphs, who's expressions turned angrier as the daughter of Iris stumbled back.

"So the children of the Titans have returned." Their leader, Aegle, said. "I wonder how their time out of their sanctuary has affected them."

"Cut the crap." I ordered coldly. "We need to speak with Atlas."

Ladon, the dragon, roared in the silence. Aegle frowned as the nymphs' expressions grew darker.

"Your time away has taught you nothing." Arethusa said. She was the kindest of the nymphs and had a worried expression. "You cannot see Atlas."

"Arethusa, please help us." Jase begged. "We must see Atlas to save the gods."

I mentally cursed as their faces grew angrier than ever, and even Arethusa looked ticked.

"We must stop you. The gods have never helped us or our father. They have not helped your parents either, they let them fade. Why do you persist in this foolish quest?" Hesperia asked, her eyes harder than copper.

"We persist because the world will fall into Chaos if we don't." Ashlynn, the resurrected daughter of Zeus, added helpfully. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, although Ian, the son of Khione, did.

The faces of the nymphs turned demonic. I flinched as fangs grew from their red mouths, their hair lashed like black whips, and their eyes turned from round copper to angrily slanted, goldish-red.

"We will have to kill you all. You cannot pass both us and Ladon." They hissed simultaneously.

The four lunged at us. I drew my knife and sliced toward Arethusa's arm. She leaped away with a flinch of pain as her apparition leaked ichor. She twirled back, her eyes looking like melted gold instead of reddish-gold. That must mean something, I thought desperately while blocking an attack.

"Help us, 'Thusa." I hissed. Her eyes widened as I used her nickname, and she faltered.

"Slip past." She muttered as she lunged hugely, missing me.

I whirled past, letting myself slither between the rock cliff and the apparition-Arethusa's body. I turned and motioned frantically for Jase to follow as I crouched behind a rocky cleft.

Soon enough, most of the quest members were here.

"Where's Ash?" Ian asked. We peeked around the corner to see Ashlynn driving her sword into Aegle's heart. The apparition flickered and died with a shriek of pain.

"They aren't here?" Jessie asked, sounding surprised.

"No." I said with distaste. "They live in the center of the Garden and only exist to protect it."

"And the apples." Jase added. "But they aren't here."

"So, what do we do about Ladon?" Monica mused.

"We don't do anything. We let Ashlynn do her work. See, it's starting." I pointed toward the daughter of Zeus, who hovered above the dragon, her face scrunched in concentration.

Ash dodged the heads, biting her lip in determination, and sliced at it with her celestial bronze sword, which gleamed lethally in the moonlight.

The dragon hissed and frothed at its mouths, snapping at the girl, who twisted out of the way. She threw her sword in a plunging arc that sparked harmlessly against its chest.

She cursed silently and raised her arm to the sky. Storm clouds gathered, way too quick to be natural, as lightning flew from the sky and into her palm. She threw it, crackling, and it jumped toward one of the dragon's throats. The head snapped on the crackling beam of light, eyes bulging in shock.

"What a stupid monster." I commented conversationally as it exploded. Someone stifled a laugh, but I didn't bother to check who.

Ashlynn ran up to us, giving the confused nymphs dirty looks, panting slightly. She tossed her hair and grinned as if she killed dragons daily. "What's next?"

I pivoted on my heel coldly, stalking up the path. The rest followed silently, watching me like I was a ticking bomb. My back grew stiffer as I advanced toward the flat top of the mountain.

"Atlas." I snarled as I reached the top.

The Titan twisted to look at me, an evil smile darkening his features.

"Good to see you again, Anya. How was your time outside of the Garden?" He asked, sounded offhandedly casual.

I swore under my breath. Negotiating with Atlas was like trying to reason with a poisonous snake-it didn't end well. Plus Atlas could speak as well as a charmspeaker, with an almost hypnotizing charisma.

"We need to know who took the apples." Monica told him. I nodded unconsciously in approval. Direct was the best way to go.

"There's a price." Atlas said, looking faintly amused.

I exchanged a look with Jase, who smirked slightly.

We walked nonchalantly up to his sides as he twisted uncomfortably, trying to avoid us. I unsheathed my knife and stabbed it into his thigh.

Atlas screamed in pain. The mountain shook.

"What was that?" I asked him again.

"Eris." He snarled and spat at my feet. I shrugged and smiled at the group.

"Let's go." Monica looked excited, the cheerful daughter of Iris.

The rest of us shrugged and followed her down the rocky path. My eyes widened; she was skipping.

"Is she seriously skipping?" A voice asked me.

I turned. Ian, the son of Khione, was looking at me, expectantly waiting for an answer. I blinked several times in surprise, and he smirked.

"I suppose she is." I shrugged and glared angrily.

He raised an eyebrow aloofly, and I fumed silently.

I walked up to my brother, who was talking with JT about his dead girlfriend.

"Such a nice subject." I scoffed. JT looked relieved at my interruption and dropped back to talk with Ian and Jessie. Ashlynn and Michelle were discussing how Ash had come back to life. Monica was humming a song under her breath.

"What were you and Ian talking about?" Jase asked, too casually.

My mouth fell open in shock. Did he really think-oh my god, he did.

"Nothing of importance!" I scoffed. My cousin looked unconvinced.

"Oh look!" Monica cried happily. "There she is!"

A beautiful woman stood in the clearing. The nymphs had disappeared.

The goddess had long black hair in a high ponytail. She wore jeans and a regular white t-shirt. Her eyes were pure black orbs and filled with a sick kind of humor.

"Hello Eris." Monica said cheerfully, but even Jase, the most unobservant guy on the planet, could tell Eris was affecting her. Her fists were clenched angrily.

"Ahh, the little quest members." Eris purred sweetly, like we were adorable little kittens she had found.

"Give us back the apples." Jessie growled.

"What's the word I'm looking for...oh, right. Nope." Eris popped the 'p' on 'nope'.

"Guys." Monica said determinedly. "Let's get these freaking apples back."

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><p><strong>Yay, a little IanxAnya moment there. So sweet. I feel like I could write a whole story on their relationship, which is good, but I have too many ideas.<strong>

**Two more chapters. And FYI, I'm finishing this before publishing any other stories :)**


	9. Action

**Disclaimer-I don't own anything but Monica, Anya, and Jase, who kindly agreed to narrate this chapter and hopes that you like it!**

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><p>Chapter 9<p>

Action

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><p>Jase POV<p>

I glared at my cousin. She was fixed on Eris, but I could see her eyes twitching back to Ian.

Stupid son of Khione, I thought furiously. That was my cousin he liked. Oh well, there would be time to go into overprotective-mode later.

"Demigods, you should be fighting each other." Eris said smoothly. "After all, what chance do you have of possibly defeating a goddess?" I gripped my sword tighter-she was using charmspeaking.

"I'd say a pretty good chance." JT said confidently, and Monica smirked.

"Foolish demigods." Eris grew furious. "Good luck."

She lunged toward us, a sword appearing in her hands.

"Woah!" Jessie yelled, hurriedly getting out of the way.

Eris ran right through us as we dodged out of the way. She sliced so close to Michelle that a bit of her hair was cut clean off.

"Wow!" Michelle backed away in fear, eyes sparkling in shock.

Ashlynn's sword sparked with electricity, but she looked exhausted at the effort. She grinned at all of us.

Michelle and Monica exchanged glances. They beamed at each other. Everyone was saying their goodbyes, just in case.

I grinned at Anya and she smiled back sadly. She turned her head to face Eris in determination.

Jessie, Ian, and JT shook the others' hands with their arms crossed in a gesture so out of place that I almost laughed outright in the middle of the battle.

Eris stared at them in surprise. "Are you done?" She asked sarcastically.

"Yep." JT said with a grin.

"Glad to hear it." She sliced her sword at me so quickly that it was just a blur. I yelped and leaped back, narrowly avoiding being cut in half.

Ashlynn blocked it for me and threw her sword upwards at Eris's face. The goddess leaned back gracefully and tried to cut at Ashlynn's feet. She leaped out of the way.

Monica appeared behind Eris out of a rainbow, bringing her sword down at the back of Eris's head in a possibly fatal (if gods could die) strike.

Eris twisted like a snake and blocked as a knife appeared in her left hand, and she slashed at Monica.

Michelle took her turn by stabbing experimentally at Eris's chest. The goddess blocked and thrust the hilt of her sword out with such force that Michelle was thrown back a couple yards and slammed into the ground.

"Ouch." I said.

Ian and JT came at Eris from the sides while Jessie charged her. She disappeared in fear at the sight of them and reappeared behind them.

"Behind you!" Anya cried, running in and trying to stab the goddess.

Eris aimed for Anya with a devious expression, the length of her sword gleaming.

Anya's eyes widened, and I just couldn't get there fast enough, even though I could feel JT speeding me up, but I just wasn't there, and my cousin was about to die and I couldn't help her. My eyes couldn't look away, even as I screamed at myself to turn my head.

Anya squeezed her silver eyes shut, breathing fast and shallowly, and suddenly a sword was there, deflecting the strike effortlessly.

Eris gaped as the sword slashed up near her face, giving her a tiny cut under her eye. It leaked the golden ichor of the gods.

Ian slashed his sword up her arm while she was distracted, twirling it casually back from her face. Jessie and JT yelled at nothing and charged as well, slashing their swords near her sides.

Eris disappeared and their swords sliced through thin air, making them stumble.

"You idiot demigods!" Eris screeched before vaporizing into nothing. We all remembered to look away. I made sure Anya, who was in shock, looked away too. The apples reappeared on the tree, shimmering just like I remembered.

"Oh my gods, thank you!" Anya threw her arms around Ian, who blushed a hot red. She recovered quickly from shock, probably a talent of being a child of the Titans. I wondered if JT could do that too.

"Um...yeah, you're, uh, welcome?" It came out sounding like an awkwardly-timed question. The rest of us grinned and rolled our eyes.

"We're never going to get away from them, are we?" Monica laughed in relief.

"I thought I was going to die." Anya turned and hugged the life out of me, sounding slightly insane.

"Anya, you're fine." I reminded her, patting her on the back.

"Now we have to go to Olympus, right?" Michelle asked, rubbing her chest. Ouch, that must've hurt.

"Yup." Monica nodded. "We need to take the apples too."

"How are we going to get there?" Ash asked, leaning against a tree, though it wasn't the one with the golden apples.

"I bet the Pegasi are still around." JT put in.

"Alright, Monica, go get them." Jessie shrugged.

Said daughter of Iris raised an eyebrow threateningly, but said nothing. Instead, she disappeared in a rainbow.

"Must be cool to be able to disappear." I said wistfully.

"You're an idiot." Anya punched my arm so hard, I fell over.

"Oh well." JT said. "There she is."

Monica landed easily and slid off gracefully.

"Get on." She ordered. "I'll get the apples."

We climbed on quickly as Monica ran toward the tree at the other end of the clearing.

She picked the apples and put them in a bag, hissing in pain as they burned her hands.

"Be careful!" I called. Monica threw me a dirty look.

She slung the bag over her shoulder and ran back to the Pegasus.

They were lifting off so she placed her foot against a tree branch, did a flip, and disappeared into a rainbow.

She reappeared on her white Pegasus with an amazed expression.

"Oh my god, how did I do that?" She yelled.

"That was awesome!" JT and Michelle screamed at the same time.

"Wow!" Ashlynn exclaimed. "You have to teach me that!"

"If I can even do that again!" She now looked terrified.

Eventually, everyone fell asleep except for me and Jessie.

"So..." I said awkwardly. "Do you want to go back to Camp?"

"Yeah." Jessie's cheeks turned a light color of pink.

"Who's your girlfriend?" I asked, watching him blush deeper.

"She's not really my girlfriend. Effie Cooper. She's really pretty." He explained. "Don't you dare tell anyone I said that."

"Okay." We flew in comfortable silence until Jessie fell asleep. JT took his place.

"Hey." I said. "What's wrong?" JT was looking particularly sad.

"Thinking about my ex." He said sadly. "She died. A drunk guy stabbed her. All because I had to leave the place earlier. It was my fault."

"I'm sorry. That must suck." I said.

"Yeah." We flew in silence until I stated laughing.

"What?" JT sounded angry.

"Oh, I'm not laughing about you. I was thinking about how almost every guy here is talking about their love problems."

"Next is..."

"Ian."

JT broke into laughter. "Oh, I would pay to see this."

"Yup."

"You going to go totally overprotective on him?" JT asked.

"Yeah." I grinned.

"Kay." JT yawned. He flew towards the front of our group, and Ian dropped back.

"I know what you're going to say." Ian sighed.

"Yeah."

"You're going to say that I'm going to stay 10 feet away from your cousin at all times or you'll kill me in the most imaginative way possible." Ian said.

"Wow. That actually was what I was going to say." I blinked.

"Look, it's not going to happen." He said quietly, blushing.

"Okay Ian, after saving her, I think you've proved yourself." I grinned at him, and we shook hands as best two guys could while on flying Pegasus. If it hadn't been so cheesy and cliché, I would've said that I'd become friends with everyone her, even the guy who was going to be going out with my cousin if he could ask her without backing out, like Ian totally would. Oh well, I'm sure that Monica, Michelle, JT, Ash, and I can figure out how to handle that.

"Look, there's Olympus!" He pointed, and everyone woke up.

"Pretty." Michelle said.

"Yeah." Jessie rolled his eyes, and Ian did the same.

"So, through the doors? Or should we just fly up there?" Monica asked.

"Doors." We all said at the same time.

"Let's go placate Queen Hera and finally finish this freaking quest." Monica grinned.

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><p><strong>Hope that wasn't too fluffy or OOC for ya. So romantic for Ian to save Anya. *sighs* I'm a hopeless romantic.<strong>

**Poor Jase. Everyone comes to him with relationship problems.**

**Review, and Jase won't have to deal with more people complaining to him.**

**PS-last chapter next then maybe a oneshot after for an epilogue when I can get the time.**


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